In the 1950s, Hollywood roles for Asian-American women were usually limited to the objects of war time romance. On the Broadway stage, musicals about the Far East like The King and I, South Pacific and Flower Drum Song were in vogue although Asian characters were usually portrayed by white actors in yellowface. Asian stage performers typically enjoyed more attention on so-called Chop Suey Circuit, an mostly Chinese-American strand of Vaudeville.

Roles for Asians were slightly more in number ontelevision. In it's early years, the small screen was a much more diverse place than the big screen. It was there, in 1951, that Anna May Wong became the first Asian-American to star in her own series, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, which aired on the DuMont Network.

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ASIAN-AMERICANS ACTORS THE 1950s

Aki Aleong Barbara Yun Beulah Quo Bill Saito Candace Lee Chang Tseng

Cherylene LeeDale Ishimoto Edo Mita

France Nuyen Guy Lee George Matsui

George Takei Gerald Jann Ginny Tiu

Henry Nakamura Hideo Inamura James Hong

James Shigeta James Yagi Jaqui Chan

Jerry FujikawaJudy DanKam Fong

Lisa Lu Lucille Soong Mai Tai Sing

Mako (aka Mako Iwamatsu) Michi Kobi Miiko Taka

Miyoshi Jingu Miyoshi UmekiNoel Toy

Pat Suzuki Patrick Adiarte Paul Togawa

Poncie Ponce Reiko SatoRobert Kino

Shuji Joe Nozawa (aka Fuji) Tsai Chin Victor Wong

Virginia Ann Lee Yuki Shimoda Warren Hsieh Willie Soo Hoo

Not pictured: May Takasugi, Robert W. Lee, and William Yokota

ASIAN-AMERICAN CINEMA OF THE 1950s

MORE ASIAN-AMERICAN CINEMA OF THE 1950sGo for Broke, I Was an American Spy, Korea Patrol, and Peking Express (all 1951); Feng ye qing, Japanese War Bride, andA Yank in Indo-China (all 1952);China Venture,Forbidden, and Target Hong Kong(all 1953); Hell's Half Acre (1954); House of Bamboo, The Left Hand of God,andLove Is a Many Splendored Thing (all 1955); The Teahouse of the August Moon(1956);Battle Hymn, China Gate, and Sayonara (all 1957); The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, China Doll, The Geisha Boy, Ghost of the China Sea, The Quiet American, and South Pacific (all 1958); and Blood and Steel, The Crimson Kimono, and Tokyo After Dark (all 1959)